The present invention relates in general to fasteners, and more particularly, to tamper resistant fasteners.
Whenever separable pieces of equipment are attached together by fasteners, there is a possibility that an unauthorized person will separate that equipment. A common example of such separable equipment which is subject to tampering by unauthorized persons is a bicycle rack. If the rack can be separated from its mounting, the rack and the bicycles mounted thereon can be stolen. Other examples include motor mounts for boat motors, mounts for decorative automobile equipment, and the like. With the ever increasing costs of equipment, it is important to provide a means for quickly, yet positively, locking pieces of separable equipment in a manner which resists the unauthorized separation thereof.
There are several known devices for fastening separable pieces of equipment together in a manner which purports to be tamper-proof. Such devices generally include a gripping member engaging portion attached to a stud engaging portion by a breakjoint. The breakjoint is severed by the application of sufficient torque to the device, usually via the gripping member engaging portion, and the stud engaging portion is generally shaped to present a surface which is difficult to grasp with sufficient force to permit that stud engaging portion to be separated from the stud.
However, all of the known devices have a stud engaging portion which remains exposed after the gripping member engaging portion has been separated therefrom. Due to the exposed nature of these elements, there remains a distinct possibility that unauthorized persons can, somehow, grip the stud engaging portion with sufficient force to allow removal of that member from the stud, and thus to defeat the tamper-proof feature of the fastener.
The present invention provides a shield which prevents exposure of the stud engaging portion of a tamper resistant fastener once that fastener is operatively positioned.